Alex Burrows can't wait to return to Ottawa lineup

After serving a 10-game suspension for jumping New Jersey Devils’ forward Taylor Hall and kneeing him in the head during a game Feb. 6th at the Canadian Tire Centre, the 36-year-old Burrows is going to return to the lineup against the Vegas Golden Knights Friday at T-Mobile Arena.

This hasn’t been an easy time for Burrows and with veteran Marian Gaborik sidelined with an undisclosed injury he’s getting the opportunity to get back into the lineup to show he can still contribute.

Burrows is the first to admit what he did to Hall was wrong

“It’s been a while for sure,” Burrows said after a skate Thursday at T-Mobile Arena. “It’s tough to be away from the team and be away from the guys on a daily basis. I’m glad I’m back now.

“Obviously, I messed up on that one. I let the emotions get the best of me. I’ve moved on now. I’ve put it behind me I’m looking forward to getting back into the lineup and helping the guys win some games.”

Burrows was choosing his words carefully Thursday and was saying all the right things.

“It’s not an easy situation. We’re not where we want to be,” said Burrows. “I’ve just got to play my game, play well, work hard and bring a good attitude every day.

“At the same time, as a team, I think we can work on some habits that can be important next year.

Burrows has had plenty of time to evaluate his situation and his future in the last month or so.

Last Sunday, he was placed on waivers by the club, cleared Monday and though he didn’t reveal much about his conversation with GM Pierre Dorion, Burrows could play spot duty down the stretch because in a lot of areas the Senators are committed to getting younger.

“We’ve had great talks since I’ve been here for a year and I understand the business side of things and I understand the situation that we’re in as a team and as an organization,” Burrows said. “I totally understand.

“That’s what I told Pierre, ‘You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do for the best interests of the team’. I’m all for it. I understand the game and that’s conversation is going to remain between him and me. The discussion I had with Pierre was good, honest and straightforward.”

The Senators have decided to go younger and though Burrows has another year at $2.5 million left on his contract he’ll have to ponder his own future in the summer. He hasn’t had the kind of year anybody expected but as he rightly points out neither have the Senators as a group.

“That’s the way it goes sometimes. You can’t do anything about it right now but there’s 20 games left, I’ve got to have a good attitude and give it my all and we’ll see where that takes me in the summer,” Burrows said.

Burrows said his best bet is to lead by example.

“Keep working hard. That’s the best way to approach things. I’m not going to dwell on the past,” said Burrows. “I’m just going to look at these next 20 games and focus on that.”

THIS N’ THAT

The Senators held their rookie dinner here Wednesday night and defenceman Thomas Chabot would have been among those expected to help foot the bill. They had a little downtime in Vegas after Tuesday’s loss in Washington and given all the changes, centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau said it was good to spend time together. “We got a day off, we had a nice dinner with the whole team, the trainers and the staff, so that was pretty cool,” said Pageau. He noted this isn’t your normal road trip. “It’s a different world. That’s for sure,” said Pageau, who also squeezed in a round of golf on the club’s day off … Goaltender Craig Anderson, who is 0-1-0 with a 5,20 goals-against average and .853 save-percentage against Vegas will make the start … The Senators dropped a 5-4 decision to the Knights on Nov. 4th at home … Coach Guy Boucher noted if it was a playoff game Gaborik would be in the lineup with back-to-back games here and Arizona Saturday night there’s no point taking any risk.

THE LAST WORDS

The Senators know they have their work cut out for them against the Knights because they’ve been one of the NHL’s best teams at home this season with a 24-6-2 record. “Teams at the start of the year might have taken them lightly but nobody is any more I can tell you that,” said centre Matt Duchene. “They’re a great hockey team and they’ve got the spot in the standings to show for it. We’ve got to be ready.” Duchene said the players on the Vegas roster have a lot to prove. “These are guys that probably had a chip on their shoulder to start the season and it’s carried them and it’s given them energy,” Duchene added. “They’re very well coach. Gerard Gallant is a heck of a coach and he’s got them playing hard and good systems.”

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